Zandra

Lyrics

ZandraCome on come on Pack it inCome on come on come on Just pack it inCome on come on come onJust pack it inZandra, Zandra

Give it up ZandraGive it up Zandra

Everybody you loveIs covered in loot

Zandra, ZandraCome on come on come on Just pack it inCome on come on come onJust pack it in

Zandra, ZandraThe world is not Old Nick (2)It is not your oysterYou cannot collate itSo give up that dope shit

Zandra, Zandra

Give it up, ZandraGive it up, Zandra

Come on come on come onJust pack it in Come on come on come on Just pack it inCome on come on come onJust pack it in

Hello ZandraFrom the planet Redundra

Come on come on come onJust pack it in Come on come on come on Just pack it inCome on come on come onJust pack it in

I'm stretched outI'm talked out

Notes

1. This may or may not be addressed to someone who is on dope, since MES may or may not say "give up that dope shit" (the Lyrics Parade also allows for the possibility that it is "give up that dumb shit," but it sounds more like "dope" to me). The "planet Redundra" probably means something redundant or repetitive is going on. Otherwise, these lyrics are surpassingly vague and could be addressed to just about any situation. This makes "Zandra" a decidedly minor effort, as nothing about the music jumps out either; it's a pretty generic affair. But that's just my opinion; I give those once in a while, especially when the notes are otherwise thin, but please don't just take my word for it.

Zack suggests:

"As long as there has been music on Earth there have been songs named after women, so it's interesting to note that The Fall never wrote such a song until 1990 when they released two of them: 'Hilary' and 'Zandra.' My pet theory is that when The Fall covered The Kinks' 'Victoria' in 1988 it reminded MES of this particular songwriting trope. Female names lend themselves well to melodies, and Early 90s Fall is full of similar character sketches about women: 'Sing! Harpy,' 'Butterflies 4 Brains,' 'The Littlest Rebel,' etc."

According to one of our regulars, harleyr:

"An old pal of mine, Guy, and some friends of his found themselves being welcomed into Smith's house sometime in 1989 or 1990. One of said friends was called Zandra. The single came out not long after. Not saying the song is about her, but the visit may have given Smith the title for the song."

I wish we knew the date! It seems likely that MES got the name from harleyr's Zandra because--"Zandra"?! Also, there does seem to be one famous-ish Zandra (not that I'd ever heard of her), some sort of fashion designer named Zandra Rhodes.

More Information

Comments (7)

1.Zack | 01/11/2016

As long as there has been music on Earth there have been songs named after women, so it's interesting to note that The Fall never wrote such a song until 1990 when they released two of them: "Hilary" and "Zandra".

My pet theory is that when The Fall covered The Kinks' "Victoria" in 1988 it reminded MES of this particular songwriting trope. Female names lend themselves well to melodies and Early 90s Fall is full of similar character sketches about women: "Sing! Harpy", "Butterflies 4 Brains", "The Littlest Rebel", etc.

2.dannyno | 15/11/2016

...and 'Rose' in 1991....

3.harleyr | 24/11/2016

An old pal of mine, Guy, and some friends of his found themselves being welcomed into Smith's house sometime in 1989 or 1990. One of said friends was called Zandra. The single came out not long after. Not saying the song is about her, but the visit may have given Smith the title for the song.

4.bzfgt | 21/12/2016

harley, it seems almost unbelievable if the title were not inspired by that. How many Zandras are there? I never met any. If this were your first comment here I'd take it with a hefty grain of salt but you're a regular and never seemed like you were full of shit, however my note will not seem like it has much authority I fear (and it's not like I know you, or Zandra). Yet it seems this must account for the name.

Anyway, Dan will want to know if you can remember the date or how long before the release or if there's anything you recall happening that day that could date the incident; perhaps light hypnosis will be necessary, so don't eat or drink too much for 12 hours ahead of time--you understand, standard procedures will have to be followed here.

5.dannyno | 21/12/2016

Well, it's not implausible like someone just saw an alien in the front room. I suppose the first question is whether harleyr knows Zandra, or if Zandra is only a friend of his friend, Guy. Do we know whether Zandra is her real name (or it's Sandra or Alexandra?), or when she was born or how old she is likely to be - even as a ballpark?

And yes, do you know the general date this happened, or can you not get more specific than 89/90? Smith lived in Edinburgh for some of that time, so were they visiting him in Edinburgh or Manchester?

6.harleyr | 21/12/2016

I've ummed and erred for a long while about whether to post that story as it's so vague. I didn't know the Zandra in question, but I've dropped a line to Guy to see if he can provide more detail. If he responds I'll let you know.

7.bzfgt | 27/12/2016

Right, it's far from impossible that he in some way encountered more than one Zandra in this time frame, and not implausible in the sense that I wouldn't believe someone if they told me they'd met two Zandra's in a year, or even in a week. But Occam's Razor is gleaming here, if we can get any confirmation or dates I would consider it interesting information to have, at the very least.